I think the third time is the charm. and maybe finding a better recipe helped too. Nothing against the BReadwinner's recipe, but i think he left out some technique instructions.
my new favorite pita recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. With a few minor technique changes, i was able to fit it to what I had in my kitchen, and what i'm capable of doing. She also gives stove top cooking instructions, which made very tasty flatbread (think Olga's or gyros), but not much pockets.
Pita (makes about 10)
3 cups + 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1 packet yeast
2 tbsp oil
1 1/4 cups water at room temperature
the day before baking, make your dough:
blend 3 cups of flour, the salt & the yeast in a big bowl. add the oil & water and mix well. knead the dough on a lightly floured surface (or in the bowl, if you're lazy like me) for 5 minutes. it's going to be super sticky, add as little additional flour as possible. cover for 15 minutes and let rest.
(sticky dough means high moisture content. high moisture content means you'll get more water vapor during baking, thus more puffyness)
knead the dough for another 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic, again it's going to be insanely sticky, and this is a good thing. add as little additional flour as possible. put some oil in the bowl, and roll the dough around in the oil. cover with greased plastic wrap, and set in the fridge for at least 8 hours, and up to 48 hours.
one hour before baking, preheat oven to 475 and put a cookie sheet (or whatever you're going to bake them on) on the bottom most rack. cut the dough into 8-12 pieces. working with one peice at a time (leave the others in the bowl, covered with plastic), shape it into a ball, and then press into a disk. let rise on 10"x10" peices of lightly floured parchment paper for 20 . next time I might try greased parchment paper, espeically for any pitas that i want to cook on the stove.
put another peice of parchment paper on top of a disk, and roll it into a flat circle about 1/4" thick. it should be about 8" to 10" across. let rest uncovered for another 10 minutes.
when you're ready to bake, do a test pita first. lifting by the parchment paper corners so you don't disturb the bread, put one pita on the baking sheet, and bake for 3-4 minutes when it should be completely puffed. do NOT open the oven during the baking time. if the pita doesn't puff, you don't have enough moisture in the dough. spritz the remaining pitas with a little bit of water, and wait 5 minutes before trying again. Once you've got the moisture thing down, bake as many as will safely fit on the baking sheet at a time. remember not to touch the dough itself while transfereing to the baking sheet, just pick it up by the corners of the parchment paper.
I had minimal success cooking pitas on the stovetop, i think because the dough was so sticky that i couldn't get it off the parchment paper without disturbing the rise (thus the thought of using greased paper next time!). preheat a pancake griddle over medium high heat, and spray with non-stick cooking spray. turn heat down to medium, then slap down one pita, and watch all thsoe crazy bubbles form! flip it over after about 20 seconds, and let cook on 2nd side for about a minute. see it puff up all cool?? flip it over again, and let cook until it's completely puffed up, then remove to cool.
my stovetop pitas tasted incredible, and looked beautiful, but even though they puffed on the stove, there wasn't much in the way of useful pockets.
of my 7 oven baked pitas, only one was a complete disaster, the rest were pocketty and tasty. see!
I'm not sure if my husband is totally sick of pitas, but there might be another try for more perfect pitas next weekend. just for kicks.
Showing posts with label Pita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pita. Show all posts
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Perfect Pita Project, Part II
Made Pita again, with mixed results. Same recipe as before, same timing for rises.
Good Stuff: No Sticking! did the 2nd & 3rd rises on parchment paper, and when I was ready to bake, I just slipped the parchment paper right onto the cookie sheet.
Bad News: got pockets in less than half the breads, and the taste was a little blah, probably due to the little bit of flour i sprinkled on when the breads were rising.
What have I learned? maybe this recipe isn't the best, and i'm thinking the author of the cookbook left out a few steps that he probably thought were intuitive. damn it, that's what i have the internet for. After looking at about a dozen recipes, my recipe seems to be lacking the following:
- dough rolled out really thin before baking
- baking stone or baking sheet needs to be preheated inside the oven
- spray the breads with water right before they go into the oven
The best recipe and technique advise seemed to come from Smitten Kitchen, so I will be trying their recipe as soon as I can. Also, her recipe says the dough can rise overnight in the fridge, meaning i can do it the night before, and only need to fuss with the bread for an hour or so in the morning.
friday bread baking? here I come!
Good Stuff: No Sticking! did the 2nd & 3rd rises on parchment paper, and when I was ready to bake, I just slipped the parchment paper right onto the cookie sheet.
Bad News: got pockets in less than half the breads, and the taste was a little blah, probably due to the little bit of flour i sprinkled on when the breads were rising.
What have I learned? maybe this recipe isn't the best, and i'm thinking the author of the cookbook left out a few steps that he probably thought were intuitive. damn it, that's what i have the internet for. After looking at about a dozen recipes, my recipe seems to be lacking the following:
- dough rolled out really thin before baking
- baking stone or baking sheet needs to be preheated inside the oven
- spray the breads with water right before they go into the oven
The best recipe and technique advise seemed to come from Smitten Kitchen, so I will be trying their recipe as soon as I can. Also, her recipe says the dough can rise overnight in the fridge, meaning i can do it the night before, and only need to fuss with the bread for an hour or so in the morning.
friday bread baking? here I come!
Friday, June 12, 2009
the perfect pita project, part one
ohh, nice alliteration!
Pita bread has so much going for it - tastes good, smells good, and you can fill it will just about anything, hot or cold! i ask you, what other kinds of breads are as versatile? yeah, i didn't think so!
now, if only i could get the pocket thing to happen right. I made a batch this morning, which although very tasty, had more the consistency of very tender dinner rolls than being hollow in the center. i tore out the centers, ate 'em, then filled 'em with tuna salad. was very tasty.
the plan is to try again tomorrow on Sunday and see if i can't improve my technique.
I'm pretty happy with the recipe, so that's not the problem, as far as I know.
The after action report for this mornings batch:
1. Made dough, followed recipe to the letter.
2. 2nd rise was on a floured baking sheet. instead of sandwiching balls between wax paper to roll out, i floured them and a rolling pin and rolled out that way, shaking off excess flour when i was done.
3. 3rd rise was on a lightly floured kitched table. BAD idea!! after it rose the last time, the little balls of dough stuck to the table and i had to "pizza peel" them off with a large spatula. it was not pretty. i think this was what killed the pockets.
4. Baked following recipe instructions. Most pitas rose beautifully in the over, looked pillowy and perfect. smelled great too.
5. sliced one in half to find no pocket inside. :(
the plan for next time: do third rise (final dough balls) on small squares of parchment paper, so i can just lift via the paper onto the baking sheet. also, might flour the dough balls more when i roll them out. you can always shake off excess flour later.
supposedly, if i've done this right, the flattened dough with poof up in the oven (the air pocket filling with hot air & expanding) and then collapse as it cools. the ones I made this morning never collapsed, because they were pretty solid inside.
stay tuned for part two of the perfect pita project!
Pita bread has so much going for it - tastes good, smells good, and you can fill it will just about anything, hot or cold! i ask you, what other kinds of breads are as versatile? yeah, i didn't think so!
now, if only i could get the pocket thing to happen right. I made a batch this morning, which although very tasty, had more the consistency of very tender dinner rolls than being hollow in the center. i tore out the centers, ate 'em, then filled 'em with tuna salad. was very tasty.
the plan is to try again tomorrow on Sunday and see if i can't improve my technique.
I'm pretty happy with the recipe, so that's not the problem, as far as I know.
The after action report for this mornings batch:
1. Made dough, followed recipe to the letter.
2. 2nd rise was on a floured baking sheet. instead of sandwiching balls between wax paper to roll out, i floured them and a rolling pin and rolled out that way, shaking off excess flour when i was done.
3. 3rd rise was on a lightly floured kitched table. BAD idea!! after it rose the last time, the little balls of dough stuck to the table and i had to "pizza peel" them off with a large spatula. it was not pretty. i think this was what killed the pockets.
4. Baked following recipe instructions. Most pitas rose beautifully in the over, looked pillowy and perfect. smelled great too.
5. sliced one in half to find no pocket inside. :(
the plan for next time: do third rise (final dough balls) on small squares of parchment paper, so i can just lift via the paper onto the baking sheet. also, might flour the dough balls more when i roll them out. you can always shake off excess flour later.
supposedly, if i've done this right, the flattened dough with poof up in the oven (the air pocket filling with hot air & expanding) and then collapse as it cools. the ones I made this morning never collapsed, because they were pretty solid inside.
stay tuned for part two of the perfect pita project!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Pita: It's all about the pockets.
I've always wanted to try making pita bread, but it always looks so daunting! How do you get that perfect bubble inside? Does it puff up into a big ginormous ball in the oven? it looks scary! and the pita I buy at the grocery store doesn't taste so good that I'd want to make a batch of that stuff at home. Grocery store pita tastes like wet cardboard.
But I had a recipe. and my husband pestered me until I psyched myself up. boys and girls, this was so frightfully easy, so wonderfully fun, and so amazingly deliciously perfect, i think I might make a batch again next week. I will never fear the pita again.
note: this recipe called for 100% whole wheat flour. I used 100% unbleached flour, and the results were lovely.
Pita Bread, from The Breadwinner's Cookbook, which sadly, is no longer in print. I have modified only slightly.
Pita Bread
1 pack yeast
1 cup warm water
small dollup of honey
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
2-3 cups flour, plus a bit more, just in case
cornmeal
Mix yeast in a bowl with 1/4 cup water and the honey. mix well, and let sit 10 minutes. if it doesn't foam up like the head of a beer, your yeast is bad, do the whole thing over again.
in a large mixing bowl, put the remaining water, oil, salt, and foamy yeast mixture. stir in the flour, a half cup at a time, blending each addition in before adding more. When you have a light dough that holds together, flour your hands and knead the dough for abotu 10 minutes, adding more flour if it gets too sticky. after kneading, shape into a ball and roll in a greased bowl. cover, and let sit in a warm place for 2 hours.
punch down, and let rest for 10 minutes. divide the dough into 5 or 6 peices of as equal as possible size. shape each peice in to a ball, knead for a minute or two, and set to rise for 30 minutes. after 30 minutes. place each ball between two sheets of floured wax paper, and carefully roll with a rolling pin (this is where i decided to cheat, and smush the balls down with my fingers. bad idea. The magic pocket of air had already formed, and i killed it. use the wax or parchement paper. use a rolling pin. be gentle) into an 8-10" round that is 1/4" thick.
Dust 2 baking sheets with cornmeal, and put two rounds of dough on each baking sheet. let rest fo 30 minutes. change the oven racks in your oven to have one as close to the bottom as possible, and one about half way up.
Near the end of the rest, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. No, that wasn't a typo, you really want 500 degrees. One baking sheet at a time, put the sheet on the bottom rack for 5 minutes. after five minutes, move it to a top rack, and bake another 3 minutes. it will be all poofy when you take it out, that's the magic air pocket! let breads cool on a rack, they will sink down a little, but it's OK. keep baking, one sheet at a time, 5 minutes on the bottom rack, 3 minutes on a higher rack until you've baked all your pitas, dusting the baking sheets again with cornmeal inbetween breads.
We had these with tuna salad, and I can honestly say i was just ho-hum about pita until I had these. can't wait to make another batch, and i'll use a rolling pin, i promise!
Book news, review of Dies the Fire is up, with a nice little discussion.
Finished reading Tim Powers' On Stranger Tides, what a fun, weird, crazy book! The only Powers book I've come across to completely take place in a historical time, we're in the Caribbean, in the early 1700's. Hey, didn't they just make some movies about this? I'd say Powers ripped someone off, except his book was published in 1988. Blackbeard was trained by escaped slaves in the art of Voodoo, and he uses his powers to find the Fountain of Youth in Florida, but something goes wrong, and now he has ghosts that are, well, attached to him. Innocently involved with pirates and magic and voodoo and love is Jack Shandy, who needs to decide what he wants in live - return to England? approach his uncle who stole an inheritance from his father? rescue a beautiful woman who may have lost her mind before Jack can get to her? A fast paced fun Powers-esque read, On Stranger Tides was recently reprinted, and it's a grand find.
Also reading Lord Valentine's Castle,by Robert Silverberg. THis is my first Silverberg novel, and so far, I'm having a good time. It's got that Michael Moorcock chilled out feeling to it, where the main character, also Valentine, just kind of goes with the flow, and whatever happens, happens. My kinda character.
But I had a recipe. and my husband pestered me until I psyched myself up. boys and girls, this was so frightfully easy, so wonderfully fun, and so amazingly deliciously perfect, i think I might make a batch again next week. I will never fear the pita again.
note: this recipe called for 100% whole wheat flour. I used 100% unbleached flour, and the results were lovely.
Pita Bread, from The Breadwinner's Cookbook, which sadly, is no longer in print. I have modified only slightly.
Pita Bread
1 pack yeast
1 cup warm water
small dollup of honey
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
2-3 cups flour, plus a bit more, just in case
cornmeal
Mix yeast in a bowl with 1/4 cup water and the honey. mix well, and let sit 10 minutes. if it doesn't foam up like the head of a beer, your yeast is bad, do the whole thing over again.
in a large mixing bowl, put the remaining water, oil, salt, and foamy yeast mixture. stir in the flour, a half cup at a time, blending each addition in before adding more. When you have a light dough that holds together, flour your hands and knead the dough for abotu 10 minutes, adding more flour if it gets too sticky. after kneading, shape into a ball and roll in a greased bowl. cover, and let sit in a warm place for 2 hours.
punch down, and let rest for 10 minutes. divide the dough into 5 or 6 peices of as equal as possible size. shape each peice in to a ball, knead for a minute or two, and set to rise for 30 minutes. after 30 minutes. place each ball between two sheets of floured wax paper, and carefully roll with a rolling pin (this is where i decided to cheat, and smush the balls down with my fingers. bad idea. The magic pocket of air had already formed, and i killed it. use the wax or parchement paper. use a rolling pin. be gentle) into an 8-10" round that is 1/4" thick.
Dust 2 baking sheets with cornmeal, and put two rounds of dough on each baking sheet. let rest fo 30 minutes. change the oven racks in your oven to have one as close to the bottom as possible, and one about half way up.
Near the end of the rest, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. No, that wasn't a typo, you really want 500 degrees. One baking sheet at a time, put the sheet on the bottom rack for 5 minutes. after five minutes, move it to a top rack, and bake another 3 minutes. it will be all poofy when you take it out, that's the magic air pocket! let breads cool on a rack, they will sink down a little, but it's OK. keep baking, one sheet at a time, 5 minutes on the bottom rack, 3 minutes on a higher rack until you've baked all your pitas, dusting the baking sheets again with cornmeal inbetween breads.
We had these with tuna salad, and I can honestly say i was just ho-hum about pita until I had these. can't wait to make another batch, and i'll use a rolling pin, i promise!
Book news, review of Dies the Fire is up, with a nice little discussion.
Finished reading Tim Powers' On Stranger Tides, what a fun, weird, crazy book! The only Powers book I've come across to completely take place in a historical time, we're in the Caribbean, in the early 1700's. Hey, didn't they just make some movies about this? I'd say Powers ripped someone off, except his book was published in 1988. Blackbeard was trained by escaped slaves in the art of Voodoo, and he uses his powers to find the Fountain of Youth in Florida, but something goes wrong, and now he has ghosts that are, well, attached to him. Innocently involved with pirates and magic and voodoo and love is Jack Shandy, who needs to decide what he wants in live - return to England? approach his uncle who stole an inheritance from his father? rescue a beautiful woman who may have lost her mind before Jack can get to her? A fast paced fun Powers-esque read, On Stranger Tides was recently reprinted, and it's a grand find.
Also reading Lord Valentine's Castle,by Robert Silverberg. THis is my first Silverberg novel, and so far, I'm having a good time. It's got that Michael Moorcock chilled out feeling to it, where the main character, also Valentine, just kind of goes with the flow, and whatever happens, happens. My kinda character.
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